Done very little fishing the past couple weeks as I had a stinking cold before Christmas and also some family over too. Nevertheless, Skye-addict Rob, let me know he'd be coming up for a week after New year's day and was keen to get some fishing done. Typically, the weather was horrible but we found some workable conditions on the Saturday. I was planning to take the easy option of just getting of on one of the islands and spending most of the day rock fishing there but as the day was better than forecasted, we decided to fish off the SIB all day. Moreover, Rob was keen to see the Haswing Cayman GPS trolling motor at work as he's interested in the concept.
We fished a few spots further out first and picked up a couple average fish before it got a bit choppy and uncomfortable to fish. My first fish came to the 'trendy' Inu-rig and I'm glad it got a fish. Its an interesting presentation but I think it'll be better at close range and weightless lures for big perch etc. Love trying new presentations anyway.
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| Liked the Inu-rig. |
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| This guy again! |
We moved to a more sheltered spot that has been very consistent for me this year and it didn't take long to get some good bites. The fish were holding at 19-20m and they were really up for it. We were using mostly loud coloured sandeels and shads on 30-40g jigheads. The fish didn't want anything fancy, hit bottom and a steady retrieve with a couple pauses did the trick. These were some cracking fish and me and Rob kept some for the table. There were mostly females but also a few males and they all had developed gonads as spawning is just around the corner. Moreover all the fish were absolutely stuffed with a variety of baitfish. From gurnards and scorpions to whitting and sprats/young herring. We did notice plenty of baitfish close to the bottom and higher up. Usually they aren't so plentiful this time of year but the pollock must've been glad they were there.
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| Cracking fish! |
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| Full bellied. |
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| He's in... |
It was great to kick off the New Year with Rob and hope this fishing continues. If there's some settled weather coming through then that will mean some good conditions for the big mamas...
I was really hoping to have received my
F-Rib by now but no sign of it yet. Would be ideal if I can get in time for the summer season. The YAM 380S keeps on going but the wear and tear shows now.
This year I'm hoping for some more warm weather fishing along with my usual targets. Let's see how things go...
Tight lines.
